"I can't go back anymore. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info" On the bridge of the USS Essex, Spruance, whose eyes were full of worry, put down the telescope in his hand, turned to look at his chief of staff, and said in a deep voice: "If you retreat further south, it will be Antarctica, and once it is blocked, you will have no chance to fight if you want to." We're not here to see the penguins. ”

"Is it time for a decisive battle?" Ridley. General Kim pursed the corners of his lips and looked at Spruance, "It's finally time." ”

"Yes." Spruance, who looked at the many naval officers on the bridge, took a deep breath and said, "Everyone, we have done the best we can, and the next thing is to fight to the death." If we can't defeat the Ming naval fleet, then we will lose our last chance to win this war. Because once we are defeated, the United States will be completely engaged in a struggle for power in the seas. At that time, the Ming army will be able to send their troops and all kinds of war materials to our homeland without impunity! ”

After a pause, Spruance continued, "This battle is a matter of life and death for the country, and we must fight until the last moment!" ”

"Yes! Sir! Numerous U.S. military officers responded loudly.

At this moment, the last main force of the US Navy's Pacific Fleet commanded by Spruance, who was the commander of the front line, had gone all the way south to the Pacific Ocean, which was only a little more than 1,000 nautical miles from Antarctica. If you continue south, you will really go to Antarctica. Spruance knew very well in his heart that his fleet was reaching its limit. The remaining fuel of many warships at the moment has already passed the safety line, and if they don't fight, there will be no chance of fighting.

The U.S. fleet, which had suffered heavy losses in many previous large-scale naval battles, could only choose to give it a go, and they had to fight no matter whether they won or lost. This is known not only to Spruance and Halsey, but also to Nimitz, the commander of the Pacific Fleet, and the senior generals of the US Department of the Navy.

In the case of a large-scale landing of the Ming army, the US fleet had no choice.

"Tomorrow, November 7th. We will have a decisive battle with the Ming fleet. Spruance ordered in a deep voice, "At eight o'clock this evening the fleet began to turn northeast, and the 99th task force set off as an advance fleet. The main forces of the fleet followed. Our primary target was the Ming Army's 25th Task Force and the 24th Task Force in the surrounding waters. Task Force 99 was used as a decoy to find out the specific location of the fleet, and the main force of the fleet was responsible for the attack. If the 24th Ming Task Force comes to join the battle, we will hold on until Halsey's fleet arrives to support. ”

Spruance's plan was to concentrate on attacking Task Force 25, commanded by Lynlo. At the same time, because the combat radius between each task force of the Ming army did not exceed 300 nautical miles, it is very likely that the 24th task force near the 25th task force of the Ming army will join the battlefield to support.

The Halsey fleet, which appeared as a surprise soldier, will launch a surprise attack on the 24th Task Force of the Ming Army after it joins the battlefield. If all goes well, the Ming army is likely to lose two large task forces at once. This will dramatically reverse the balance of combat effectiveness between the two sides.

After that, the other two remaining Ming army task forces will be easy to deal with, after all, the pressure will definitely not be as great as it is now. If it does succeed, then it will be able to see a glimmer of victory. Of course, all of this is ideal. However, this is also the only thing that the US military can count on in this unfavorable situation at this moment.

In order to achieve the suddenness of the battle, Spruance sent a heavy cruiser hundreds of nautical miles away from the main fleet as a liaison and transit point early on. When there was a need for communication, a seaplane would be sent to fly far away with the order, and a telegram would be sent to Halsey using the radio on the heavy cruiser.

The same is true for Halsey, who also sent a liaison ship early to contact Spruance. It can be said that the US Navy has done everything in its power for operational success. However, their enemy is not a fool, but a fleet far more powerful than them. In any respect, the Ming Pacific Fleet at this time was far more powerful than the US fleet.

In the early hours of November 7, South Pacific.

On the bridge of the aircraft carrier USS Whale Sea, the flagship of the 25th Task Force of the Pacific Fleet of the Ming Navy, the officer on duty shouted "Commander, enter the bridge to receive command." Lin Luo, who had slept for a few hours in a hurry, walked slowly into the bridge.

At this time, Lin Luo had been promoted to admiral by Zhang Cheng because of his previous military exploits, and became the real general in the Ming Navy. It is also a strong contender for the future commander of the Navy. But before he can do that, he needs to lead his fleet to win what may be the last large-scale naval battle in the war that will sweep the world.

"Have all the reconnaissance planes been sent?" At this moment, the night was still shrouded in the sky, and Lin Luo, who was holding a coffee cup, looked at the chart and then looked at his chief of staff and asked.

Lin Luo's chief of staff, Vice Admiral Sun Ming, nodded and said, "Twenty minutes ago, the reconnaissance planes of each ship had already set off. ”

There is a tradition of the carrier-based aircraft unit of the Ming Navy, which is a combat method recorded in the naval aviation combat manual compiled by Zhang Cheng. That is, before dawn, a reconnaissance plane unit was dispatched to the designated sea area to conduct reconnaissance.

This tactic can enable the reconnaissance aircraft unit to arrive at the predetermined sea area more quickly and discover the traces of the enemy's fleet more quickly, thus gaining enough precious time for the fleet to attack. In the sea and air wars of this era, the difference in time is enough to determine the outcome of a naval battle. This tactic played a huge role in the Ming army's previous fleet battles against the Japanese and Americans.

Of course, this approach is very demanding for the entire fleet, from pilots to fighters to warships. Without strong logistics and skilled pilots, this tactic simply cannot be used, after all, the danger of taking off at night is very high. Even the Ming army has had many accidents because of the flying of reconnaissance planes at night. However, this loss is acceptable compared to the advantage gained on the battlefield.

"The outer defensive ring was expanded to 100 nautical miles, and all air defense fighters took to the air immediately after dawn." Lin Luo turned around and came to the chart to look at it for a while, and then said, "Where is the friendly fleet now?" ”

"The 24th Task Force under the command of General Han Dongwen is about two hundred nautical miles away from us. The 23rd Task Force under the command of General Li Ru was about 350 nautical miles away. As for the 22nd Task Force commanded by General Tong Haifeng, it is estimated that they will not be able to join the battlefield if a decisive battle breaks out with the US forces tomorrow. Sun Ming's words made Lin Luo nod slightly.

In fact, the submarine forces of the Ming army were constantly monitoring Spruance's fleet. Although the number of ocean-going submarines sent by the Ming to the South Pacific Ocean is not small, it is not small. They intermittently reported on the Spraance fleet, trying to deduce that the likelihood of a battle between the two sides was not low.

"We must strengthen reconnaissance and perimeter defense. We have the advantage right now, and as long as we don't make mistakes, they won't be able to beat us. Lin Luo nodded and said, "I always feel a little uncomfortable, maybe there is a great possibility of a war breaking out tomorrow." ”

After the last time the Ming naval fleet was attacked by the Americans in the waters near Hawaii, if they couldn't raise their vigilance, they might have deserved to lose the war. In the case of its own absolute superiority, it is impossible to overstate how cautious the Ming Navy is. Because they no longer need to use risky means to win the war.

"It's pretty much the same." Lin Luo turned around and came to the porthole, looked at the dark night sky outside, and whispered to himself, "It's time for this war to come to an end." ”

------

More than two hours later, the sky was bright, and in the radar room of the Weishanhu of the 25th Task Force of the Ming Navy, a young radar soldier shouted loudly, "Sir, there is a situation!" ”

A lieutenant of the Ming Navy hurriedly ran to the radar soldier and looked at the radar screen in front of him. I saw a large speck suddenly appear on the pale blue screen, which was approaching them at a very fast speed.

"Sir!" The lieutenant hurriedly picked up the red phone and connected to the bridge: "There is a large number of unidentified warplanes approaching our ship!" ”

"Sound the air defense siren and send a telegram to the flagship!" The captain of the Weishan Lake reacted very quickly and immediately made the most correct choice.

The Weishanhu battleship is equipped with the latest anti-aircraft detection radar of the Ming Navy, which can detect nearly 40 nautical miles at a distance of up to 40 nautical miles when the weather is fine. In addition, they were at a distance of almost a hundred nautical miles from the main force of the fleet at this time. When the alarm is issued in time, it can give the main fleet enough time to respond.

"It can't be!" After receiving the early warning telegram from the Weishanhu, Sun Ming, chief of staff of the fleet, had an expression of disbelief: "How did the American fleet come over?" Our reconnaissance aircraft have not reported anything so far! It is impossible for the reconnaissance plane unit to have any blind spots in the reconnaissance area, but none of them sent back a telegram to discover the US fleet. Could it be that the planes of the Americans all took off from underwater aircraft carriers? ”

"Whether or not the American fleet is found, what we have to do now is prepare for an incoming attack." Although things did not go according to the expected script, Lin Luo did not have any intention of panicking, Lin Luo, who was sitting on the chair, glanced at the navigation clock and began to calculate the time, "Sound the air defense alarm and prepare for battle." ”

Lin Luo is confident. His 25th Task Force has a total of eighteen fleet aircraft carriers and nearly 2,000 carrier-based aircraft of all kinds! That's a staggering number. Such a huge aircraft carrier formation is sailing on the sea at this moment in two or two formations in a huge double row. With enough time, these carriers carry more than enough fighter jets and large escort warships to deal with any threat. (To be continued.) )